Citron is the
oldest
known variety of citrus. Seeds of citron were found in excavations of
the town of Nippur in the southern part of Babylon (present-day Iraq).
These ruins date back to 4000 B.C. It is not known whether
Mesopotamians cultivated citron at that time or imported
the fruit from the east, but the seed-finds prove
that
citron was known to them at least 6000 years ago. The last
part of
the Latin name, Citrus
medica,
refers to the former state of Media, which
existed around 700 - 500 B.C. in the area that later became
the kingdom of Persia. The Medes were known to
cultivate the citron and they presumably introduced the fruit to other
nations in the Near East.

The army of Alexander the Great brought the
citron to the Mediterranean region in 325 B.C. It is
unknown if the fruit first came to Greece and then
spread with Jewish settlers to Palestine. Other theories say
parts of
the large army passed through the Near East and brought citron
to Palestine directly. We know that by 200 B.C.
citron was firmly established in the region and had also started to
spread westwards to southern Italy. Murals discovered in Pompeii tell
us that by the year 79 A.D. citron had spread to the Naples area.
Documents indicate that citron was a staple, commercial food item in
Rome in the year 301 A.D. During the fourth century
A.D. cultivation of citrus had successfully been introduced to
Sardinia, Sicily and continental Italy south of Naples.
These areas and the islands of the Ionian sea that at the
time were under Venetian rule, Corfu most notably among them, supplied
citron to the Jews of not only the western Mediterranean area but also
further north to the Jews of France and Germany for their annual Feast
of the Tabernacles (Sukkoth) ceremony. See Etrog
further down.

Distribution

The tree is highly susceptible to both frost and extreme heat and
drought. It thrives in the temperate regions of the Mediterranean. The
most important areas of cultivation are Sicily, Corsica, Crete
and a few smaller coastal islands of
Italy, France and Greece. Citron products, jams, juices, soft drinks
and
candied peel are made mostly in France, England and the United States.

Uses

Citrons are basically divided into three
different
groups. 1. The acid
citron types, which have flowers and buds that are purplish; 2. The
sweet citrons and 3. The pulpless, so-called dry citrons, both of which
have yellowish white flowers. For the candied peel (see below) the acid
and the pulpless citrons are best. Some of the most commonly cultivated
citrons have sweet pulp that typically is also nearly acidless. The
juice and pulp is used for sweets, beverages, desserts and marmalade.
The white part of the peel of some citron varieties is juicy, soft and
sweet
and unlike most other citrus fruit is edible when prepared. The
whole fruit of the fingered citron (Buddha's hand) can be steamed
and then candied to be served as dessert. Dried whole fruit have been
used as insect repellents in stored clothing.

The fragrance of
the fresh citron peel has been prized for centuries. Whole fresh fruit
have been used in temples as offerings in religious
rituals and
the fruit
can be used to perfume the air of a room. Citron yields several
important essential oils. The steam-distilled oil from the flowers is
used in perfumery. The antiseptic essential oil cold-pressed from the
fresh rind has limited use in perfumery and aromatherapy but is widely
used as an ingredient in shampoos and hair conditioners. A "Cédrat
petitgrain" oil is distilled from the leaves and twigs of citron trees
in the islands of the South Pacific for the French perfume industry.

Preparation
of
candied peel, succade.

The thick peel of citron is
candied and used as a spice in cakes and other bakery products. It is
sold in
China as a stomachic, stimulant, expectorant and tonic. The candied
peel is
also called succade
(picture on the right). There are varieties of citron (see Fingered
citron and Yemen
below), which completely lack fruit pulp and consist only of
the white
part also called albedo. In the preparation of candied peel
the fruits are
halved, depulped and first immersed in salt water (originally
sea water)
for 5-6 weeks. The salt water is changed every two weeks. During this
period a
natural fermentation occurs. After that the peel is de-salted in fresh
water,
which is changed daily for a few days. The peel is then boiled
to soften
it and to remove the remaining salt. It is then slowly candied in a
strong
sucrose-glucose solution, which can be coloured by food additives to
produce
various shades. Finally the peel is dried and ready for use.

Classification
of
citron

Because
of its importance in the genealogy of the Citrus family
several other
citrus fruit were earlier classified as variants of the
citron. Many of these have now acquired the status of an independent
species. Lemon, Citrus
limon, used to be Citrus
medica var. limonum. Lime,
Citrus
aurantiifolia,
used to be Citrus
medica var. acida. The Sweet
lemon, Citrus
limetta, used
to be Citrus medica
var. limetta. Since some of these earlier names can still
be found in books this can cause confusion.

Citron
in other
languages

Further
confusion is easily created by the variety of names used in other
languages. In French the citron is
cédrat, and the lemon is citron. In German
it is Zedrat-Zitrone
or Zitronat-Zitrone.
In Italian
it is cedro
or cedrato,
in Spanish cidro
or poncil.
Because of the Jewish affinity to the fruit the citron is sometimes
referred to as the Jewish lemon. It is called citronnier des juifs
in French and the Jewish apple, Judenapfel
in German.

The history of the
name citron

The history
of the names citron
and cédrat
is well-known. Although there may be religious disagreement about the
history and use of the word citron,
from a purely linguistic point of view the etymology of the word citron
is quite simple. Moses laid down the rules of the use of the cones
of cedar tree (hadar,
which in Greek was kedros).
When cedar later fell into disfavour it was replaced by the somewhat
similarly shaped fruit of a local variety of citron, which the Greek
called kedromelon,
the apple of cedar. The Greek kedros
became cedrus
in Latin and this is the form of the word that much later became the cédrat of French,
the Zedrat
of German and by a different route the citron of English.
However, the Greek apple of cedar, kedromelon
became the malum citreum
of the Romans. In the course of time malum (the apple)
was dropped and only citreum
remained. The basic form of the Latin word citreum is citrus,
the citron.

Of all the trees in the orange family the Swedish botanist Carolus
Linnaeus (Carl von Linné,
after his ennoblement in 1761) was best acquainted with the citron.
When he established the binomial
system of taxonomy he chose Citrus,
the Latin name of citron, as the genus name for the trees in the orange subfamily we
thereafter have known as citrus trees.

There is food for thought in that all these names from the
biblical hadar to kedros, cedrus, cédrat, citron and the word citrus
itself have originally meant the cedar tree. In the near east it was
the Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus
libani) and in the western parts of the Mediterranean the
Atlas cedar (Cedrus
atlantica), named after the Atlas Mountains of Algeria and
Morocco. Thus the modern Latin name of an Indian sour orange type Citrus indica would
actually in Roman times have denoted the cones of a cedar variety grown
in the Himalayas.

Bajoura
is a small citron with thin peel and very acid juice.
It
has been suggested that Bajoura might be a cross of citron and lemon.
The
flowers exude a faint musk-like aroma and Bajoura is also known as Musk
citron.

Balady Citron is a
variety of Israeli citron, or etrog, grown in Palestine for Jewish
ritual purposes. Its characteristics much resemble those of
the Etrog
(Greek citron)
variety
described further down.

Balady is Arabic for "native". Local
Arab farmers began using this name in the mid-19th century to
distinguish this variety from the Greek
citron, which was cultivated along the Jaffa seashore.

The Balady was grown on the outskirts of
Nablus and neighbouring Nazareth, near Safed and Alma
al-Shaib, in Umm al-Fahm, in an orchard near Tiberias, and in Lifta
village near Jerusalem.

Rabbi Chaim Elazar Vacks (b. 1822) believed
that this variety of etrog has the strongest tradition-lineage of
species purity, being found in the wilderness of Israel when the
first settlers, including Nahmanides (1194 – c.1270), arrived there.
While the variety is not domesticated, it is not grafted and does not
require
intensive cultivation techniques. Subsequently it
was always used by famous scholars and pious persons, who were
certainly convinced of its purity and suitability for
religious
rituals. For other eligible citron varieties see Etrog.

The Balady
or Chazon Ish
citron has two main cultivars:
the Halperin
Chazon Ish,
the Lefkowitz
Chazon
Ish.

The
Chazon Ish (Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz, 1878-1953, popularly known
for his important book Chazon
Ish) once saw a certain citron tree and
pronounced "This is an Esrog". The seeds from that Esrog were planted
by Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz and have given rise to the Lefkowitz type.

The Chazon Ish saw another Esrog and
told its owner Yakov Halperin to plant its seeds. This gave rise to the
Halperin
strain. The importance of the difference
between the two strains for the Chazon Ish has remained
unclear.Wikipedia has a detailed article on
the Balady
citron. It describes its history and competition with the Greek Citron (the 'Etrog' variety)
in religious
rituals.

The Buddha's Hand citron
(the bushukan of Japan), also known as the Fingered
citron, is
a fragrant, strongly aromatic variety that has long been
used as an offering
in temples. In
earlier times it was much used as an insect repellent and an
air-freshener. It is cultivated in Japan and China where at least a
dozen named cultivars exist. The fruit is split into five or more
finger-like
segments.

In outward appearance there are two main strains of
the Fingered citron: one where the whole fruit is fingered (two top
pictures) and another where only part of fruit is fingered or the whole
fruit is only corrugated without separate fingers (two bottom
pictures).

The
fruit often has no pulp but consists entirely of the edible fleshy peel
that can be steamed and candied fresh (second picture). It is also
prepared as candied
peel by the traditional
method

The fruit in the bottom picture is of a variegated Buddha's Hand with
bi-coloured leaves.

This
very old
variety is thought to have originated in India, whence it spread to
Persia and
circa 300 B.C. to the Near East. It arrived in Europe via Sicily and
Sardinia
after 200 B.C. It used to be widely grown in Calabria and Campania and
to a
certain extent on the islands of the Dalmatian coast and Ionian Sea.
Recently
its growing area has diminished.

The
leaves
have a hardly noticeable wingless petiole. Young shoots and buds
sometimes have
a deep reddish colour. Cedruna belongs to the sour group of citrons.
The fruit
are large and often obovoid in shape and have a strong dark yellow
colour when
fully ripe. Cedruna is very susceptible to cold and sometimes sheds its
leaves
in the winter, but produces new leaves again in the spring.

The 'Corsican'
is a sweet variety of citron. Some say that grown in
optimal conditions 'Corsican' is the sweetest citrus of all. A famous
early
French citrus classification by Risso & Poiteau named
it Citrus medicavar. dulcis,
sweet citron. This variety was introduced to the United States in 1891
and is grown today in California.

The fruit is large, ellipsoid or ovate; the peel is rough, lumpy, very
thick and fleshy. The pulp is crisp but not very
juicy.

The 'Corsican' is the principal variety on the French island of
Corsica, where it is used to make jams, marmalades and sweets. The
juice is used for citrus fruit concentrates and soft drinks.
Cédrat petitgrain oil distilled from the leaves and twigs of
citron trees is used by the French perfume industry.

Corsican citron is used for marmalade. The bottom picture shows a
label on a Corsican marmalade jar.

'Diamante' fruit
is ellipsoid and unlike
most citrons the peel is smooth or only faintly ribbed. It has a very
thick rind and firm, fleshy albedo. Flesh is crisp; lacking in
juice, but acid, like lemon.

The fruit has a broad nipple at the apex.Commercially grown in Italy's Calabria region, the
Diamante citron is easily recognised by its 'square shoulders'.

Tree is small, open and spreading, medium-thorny with some large, stout
spines; buds, flowers, and new growth purple-tinted.

Presumably of local though unknown origin, Diamante
is the principal
variety of Italy and is considered to be the
best. It was introduced into the United States in
1898. Italian
and Sicilian are California
introductions that are similar to Diamante.

Diamante is one of the citrons appropriate for Jewish religious
rituals. When used as etrog the variety is
called by its Hebrew name Yanover.
The name derives from the town of Genoa, which used to be the main
export harbour for Italian citrons. For other
suitable varieties see Etrog.
Wikipedia has a good article on the Diamante
citron.

The
variety name Etrog
is a misunderstanding. Etrog
(Ethrog, and the Esrog of Ashkenazi Jews) is the Hebrew name for
citron. Since this Greek variety was one of the main
varieties grown in Israel it eventually became known as the variety
'Etrog'.

The origin of the Etrog variety is unknown (see History)
and sometimes it is thought
that this variety may be close to one of the original citrus
fruits out of which all other
citrus types have hybridised. See Introduction,
The genus Citrus.

The variety was initially known to be
cultivated on the Ionian Islands, of which Corfu is the most prominent,
which is why the Hebrews sometimes call it Corfu etrog.
Nowadays not a single citron tree is found on that island, but it is
still
cultivated on some other Greek Islands e.g. Crete and Naxos.
The citron is no longer exported from Greece for the ritual
purpose. Cretan
citron growers sell it for the candied peel, which is
called succade,
and in Naxos it is also distilled into a special aromatic liqueur
called kitron.
In the Feast
of Tabernacles (sukkot)
the first fruit of the new harvest are brought to the temple in a bunch
(Lulav)
of
four plants, one of which is the etrog, a citron. For this Jewish
religious ritual certain other types of citron can be
used as
well. The tree has to grow on its own roots and not be grafted. The
colour, shape and unblemished rind of the fruit have to accord with
strict rules. Furthermore the citrons have to be grown under the
supervision of an appointed rabbi. The other
varieties
accepted as a ritual etrog
are 'Yanover'
(Diamante),
'Balady',
'Moroccan'
(the Assads cultivar) and 'Yemen'
and such Israeli selections as Braverman
and Kivelevitz.

The Etrog variety is also called 'Greek' or 'Corfu'
citron.Wikipedia has an interesting article on the Etrog
variety under the name Greek
Citron.

Fruit of the Italian
variety is very similar to Diamante
above, but the rind is less thick, being about 1/3 of fruit cross
sectional
radius whereas Diamante rind comprises about 1/2 of the fruit
radius.

The tree bears a heavy crop of relatively large fruits, which are
markedly elongated; some have a tapered apex. The juice and rind have a
pleasant flavour.

The Moroccan sweet
citron
was first described in detail by Professor Henri Chapot in his
article Un curieux cédrat marocain, which
he
published
in 1950.
He found that the acidity in the more
common citrons and lemons is linked to violet pigmentation on the outer
side of the flower and the reddish-purplish colour of the buds.
The Moroccan
citron, which is acidless and sometimes used as a replacement
for
the Corsican completely
lacks red colour. Chapot found two cultivars: Assads and
M'Guergueb.
The Assads cultivar of the Moroccan citron
is one of the varieties that are
suitable for
use as etrog in Jewish religious rituals. The
lower picture is of a
Moroccanetrog hanging to adorn a Sukkah.
There was originally some doubt about the non-hybridised
purity of
the
Moroccan, because certain strains did not have seeds. When the Assads
cultivar was found to have an almost ideal fruit shape and seeds as
well
it was accepted as pure citron.Wikipedia has a good article on the Moroccan
citron.

Odorata fruit
size varies but some fruits are huge, larger than many
pomelos. Shape is slightly oblong to elongate, or typically
pear-shaped. Some fruits have a small nipple.
Skin
is fairly smooth or slightly bumpy, lemon yellow at maturity.
Rind
is thick and sweet. Flesh is moderatly seedy, white, dry and
coarse. It has very little sugar, acid or flavour. The fruit is oddly
non-aromatic for a variety called Odorata.

Sicilian is a medium
to large elongate citron with a blunt nose. Skin is smooth but
bumpy, furrowed and yellow.
The
rind is medium thick. The flesh has a small central core. It is very
seedy, sour but fairly juicy, with a nice, tart citron flavour.
Otherwise it appears to be very similar to Diamante.

The fruit of Yemen
is sweet and
has a pleasant flavour. Medium size on average, size varies from small
to large. The shape of the fruit is irregular, most fruits are
elongate, many with pointy nose. The fruit matures late. Rind is
yellow, rough, very thick, fluted, especially at apex.Yemen citron has no juice vesicles. Strips of rind
albedo connect
around seeds to solid central core. Albedo flavour is
sweet
but very mild. This could be described as a "dry" citron.

Yemen is
one of the citrons appropriate for Jewish religious rituals. For
other suitable varieties see Etrog.

Yunnan
is a new variety from China. Mostly
small to
medium in size, but some older fruit are large. Yunnan appears to be a
typical citron-type fruit: pear-shaped to elongate with a blunt nose
and medium yellow rind, which is smooth on small fruits but bumpy and
furrowed on large fruits.

The
rind is medium thick. The flesh is light
yellow, sour, seedless, juicy and very fragrant. Tree is
of medium size, a lot of red in young foliage.